Scenes of joy as Croatian generals win appeal at UN tribunal

Chanting 'Victory! Victory!', waving red-and-white checkered flags and dancing in the streets, tens of thousands of jubilant supporters gave two Croatian generals a hero's welcome yesterday after a UN war crimes tribunal overturned their convictions for murdering and expelling Serb civilians during a 1995 military blitz.

Chanting 'Victory! Victory!', waving red-and-white checkered flags and dancing in the streets, tens of thousands of jubilant supporters gave two Croatian generals a hero's welcome yesterday after a UN war crimes tribunal overturned their convictions for murdering and expelling Serb civilians during a 1995 military blitz.

Croatians viewed the decision to release Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac as vindication that they were the victims in the Balkan wars in the 1990s, but neighbouring Serbia denounced the ruling as a scandalous injustice toward tens of thousands of its compatriots who were expelled from Croatia after an offensive led by the two.

The deep division over the generals could set back efforts to reconcile the two wartime enemies – the most bitter rivals in the Balkans.

A red carpet was laid out as a Croatian government plane carrying Gen Gotovina and Gen Markac from the Hague, Netherlands, touched down in Zagreb, Croatia's capital, and the two were welcomed by the Croatian prime minister, Zoran Milanovic and other top officials.

The 3-2 majority decision in the UN court's five-judge appeals chamber is one of the most significant reversals in the court's 18-year history. It overturns a verdict that dealt a blow to Croatia's self-image as a victim of atrocities, rather than a perpetrator, during the war.

Yet the ruling produced fury in Serbia, where it was seen as further evidence of anti-Serb bias at the UN tribunal. Even liberal Serbs warned the ruling could stir nationalist sentiments.

Serbia's nationalist president, Tomislav Nikolic, declared that the decision by the Hague court was clearly "political and not legal" and "will not contribute to stabilisation of the situation in the region but will reopen all wounds".

Tens of thousands of people, including Croatian war veterans, celebrated in Zagreb's main square. Some sobbed with joy while others ignited flares.

Criminals

"Finally, we can say to our children that we are not war criminals," said veteran Djuro Vec. "We fought for justice, and that our fight was righteous."

In The Hague, neither Gen Gotovina nor Gen Markac showed any emotion as presiding judge Theodor Meron told them they were free.

Gen Gotovina and Gen Markac had been sentenced to 24 and 18 years respectively in 2011 for crimes, including the murder and the deportation of Serbs, during the 1995 Croatian offensive dubbed "Operation Storm".

Judges ruled that both men were part of a criminal conspiracy led by former Croat president Franjo Tudjman to expel Serbs. The fighting in Croatia was part of the wars that erupted across the Balkans with the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.